Sidley Austin has assisted property developer China Evergrande Group to file for US bankruptcy protection in a Manhattan court as part of the company’s restructuring of offshore debts.
Evergrande has applied the process under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code, which protects restructuring non-US companies from creditors suing or seizing assets in the US.
In a HKEX notice, Evergrande will ask the Manhattan court to recognise the schemes of arrangement under the offshore debt restructuring in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. This does not mean Evergrande is filing for bankruptcy, the HKEX notice added.
Evergrande resumed trading on the HKEX on 28 August, and the creditors’ meeting scheduled on the same day was postponed to 26 September. The USD19.15 billion restructuring plan of its offshore debts was published this April, with Sidley, Kirkland & Ellis, Maples Group and Harneys counselling the various parties involved.
